Brazil Cruises Past Russia In International Friendly

Brazil had a familiar performance under Manager Tite, with a slow start in the first half and then an impressive performance in the second half against Russia on 3/23 in the same stadium that the World Cup final will be played in.

In Brazil’s 3-0 victory in Moscow, Miranda, Coutinho and Paulinho all made it on the scoresheet with a rebound goal, penalty and header respectively. With 80 days until the World Cup begins, each friendly is incredibly important to solidify a game plan and chemistry amongst international teammates.

Paulinho in his last 13 matches for Brazil has produced 7 goals and 3 assists. He possesses a great understanding of Tite’s system and is proving his critics wrong in each game he plays for both club and country. Against Russia, Brazil maintained 64% possession, had 18 total shots with 14 on target and capped it off with 3 goals.

Tite did a good job rotating players in this friendly, though I think it would have been beneficial if Roberto Firmino made an appearance given his recent form.

Players who have scored the most goals for Brazil under Tite are as follows:

Gabriel Jesus (8)

Paulinho (7)

Neymar (7)

There’s a difference in this year’s Brazilian national team as there seems to be less of a dependence on Neymar and more on how the team functions on the pitch.

I would argue that it was hard to select the MOTM though, in my opinion PSG defender, Thiago Silva, probably had the most consistent performance especially with the goal line clearance. On another note, survey results on twitter show that Neymar’s absence was a blessing in disguise in the event that Neymar happens to miss a critical World Cup game in the tournament. Brazil looks to be sound with or without their star player.

Brazil’s statistics under Tite’s management have been impressive to say the least. In 18 games, Brazil has 14 wins, 3 draws, and 1 defeat. 38 goals have been scored and only 5 goals have been conceded.

Brazil will play Germany next on Tuesday 3/27 as we inch close to the 2018 World Cup!

Who do you think will win in that International Friendly? Are the defending World Champions going to do it twice in a row? Comment below!